Introduction

Over 30,000 episodes of people going missing are reported to
Police Scotland every year. In 2015/16, that figure was 40,070.
1 For agencies dealing with missing people, this meant the
police were receiving over 100 calls about missing people every
day. Going missing exposes people to unnecessary risks; it impacts
negatively on their health and wellbeing; and, in a small number of
cases, it can lead to death. The impact of someone going missing
can be devastating for families and friends who are often left in
limbo, desperately waiting for news of their missing loved one.

Anyone can be affected by someone going missing. That is why
agencies need to continue to work together to prevent people from
going missing in the first place and to do their best to keep them
safe from the potential risks they could be exposed to. However, it
is also important that those who do go missing are located quickly
and are given the support they need to allow them to return to
their communities or to build new lives for themselves.

Almost 1 in 2 of all missing people reported have gone missing
on one or more previous occasions.
1 Evidence suggests that, if agencies do not deliver
successful interventions tailored to the needs of the individual,
then he or she can find themselves locked into a pattern of
behaviour where they are repeatedly going missing, which in turn
can expose them to greater risk.

All individuals who go missing are at risk of harm. However, for
some individuals, this harm can be exacerbated by their
circumstances:

Almost two thirds of people reported missing are children and
young people, with many looked after in care or residential
settings.
9 We know that children and young people are a particularly
vulnerable group who are more likely to be subjected to
exploitation while they are missing.
8

Similarly, adults with dementia, although only making up
around 3% of the people who are reported missing, remain one of
the most vulnerable groups.
9

Evidence suggests that up to 80% of adults who go missing
have one or more mental health problems.
2

The decision to go missing is not one that people take lightly
and it is often an act of last resort in response to abuse,
distress or desperation. Many people do not disappear by choice -
including people with dementia who often go missing unintentionally
and young people who are thrown out of their homes.

In some cases, missing adults may choose to start their lives
again. They are, of course, perfectly within their rights to do
that provided they are not engaged in any criminal activity.
However, the evidence tells us that this is very rare and that the
overwhelming majority of people who go missing are children, young
people and vulnerable adults.

The story around missing people is not all negative. Thanks to
agencies - and their dedicated staff - working in a coordinated and
cooperative way, the vast majority (88%) of those who have gone
missing are found or return safely within 48 hours. This is a
significant achievement and we should also recognise that there are
numerous high quality services operating in this area.
9

Our aim with this framework is to build on existing good
work. We want to:

prevent people from going missing in the first place:
and

limit the harm associated with people going
missing.

This Framework is the first of its kind in Scotland. It sets out
how organisations can play a positive role in meeting these aims by
working together, and seeks to raise the profile of the issues
connected with people going missing. It doesn't propose to change
policy direction or create new systems alongside those that already
exist. Rather, its purpose is to ensure that, by identifying
successful practice, we adapt where necessary and increase the
impact of our existing systems. It also sets out some
organisational roles and responsibilities to deliver the best
outcomes possible for missing people. As this is a joint Framework,
it has been developed in close partnership with organisations and
agencies working in this area.

Families, friends and communities can be confident that, when
vulnerable people go missing in Scotland, the agencies responsible
for finding them already work together to minimise the likelihood
that they will come to harm. These same agencies are highly
effective in resolving cases as quickly as possible and provide -
or guide people to - specialist aftercare to support them and their
families. However, to date, there has not been a unifying Framework
such as this one to support agencies in co-ordinating that activity
or a national aim to reduce the number of people going missing and
limit the harm related to those that do.

To achieve its aims, this Framework will focus on four closely
interconnected objectives:

To introduce
preventative measures to reduce the number of
episodes of people going missing.

To
respond consistently and appropriately to
missing persons episodes.

To provide the best possible
support to missing people and their
families.

To
protect vulnerable people to reduce the risk of
harm.

All four objectives are mutually supportive and are underpinned
by a series of commitments. They are all targeted at the groups
most likely to go missing - children and young people; vulnerable
adults; and older people with dementia.